Steadfast Proclamation 1/11/2014

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24 NASB)

2014 seems to have revealed a fresh move of God's Holy Spirit to convict men of their sin and to embolden and energize our team members to increasing obedience to the Lord's call upon our lives. Team members included:  Mark, Dr. Jack & Barbara, Dean, Jeremy, Nestor, and Steven V.

A new guitarist, named Mike, provided some well performed entertainment. He courteously adjusted his volume, took long breaks out of deference to the preaching, and even offered some advice on optimizing the sound adjustments on our amp.

We've been blessed to have Nestor, a member of the CBC Choir, out with us several times lately. He has volunteered to be a steward over the Bible distribution, which is to say that he has been holding the "Free Bibles" sign and responding graciously when people come up to ask for one. His cheerful and friendly countenance has been an encouragement to us all.

Brother Jeremy offered this description of the encounter he and Dean had with an elderly gentleman who called himself "Byrd":

Byrd approached us to show his support (and offer some audio advice).  While he had a decent understanding of the 4 gospels, it became quickly apparent that the Jesus he was talking about (a moralist) and the Jesus the Bible proclaims (the way, the truth, and the life) were not one and the same.

We began a deeper discussion with him, but Byrd had trouble seeing the difference – even affirming everything we would say as truth.  This led Dean to take a different approach and humbly ask Byrd to explain the way to Heaven to us (in his words).

Having him think it through for himself exposed that while he believed he needed to be a good person, he wasn't positive if he had been a good enough of a person (“only God knows for sure”) and that gave Dean an opening to point out to him that God has said that we must be perfect, and therefore we can be certain that we haven’t been good enough!  That gave Byrd pause and we were able to give at least a rough outline of the Gospel, although he still chose to cling to the idea that since he wasn't as bad as other people, his goodness had to factor in there somehow.

We may not have made any noticeable headway by the time we parted ways, but we pray that the truth he was presented of our inability to ever be good enough to get into Heaven on our own continues to echo in his mind, leading him towards repentance and trust in the true Jesus.

A Heckler (Finally!)

Dean had the following exchange with this heckler:

Heckler:  What is your opinion of the fact that Islam, Judaism, most Bhuddists, I think, consider Christ to be a prophet?

Dean:  Well, yes, that's an opinion. Jesus proved He was God when He rose from the dead . . .

H:  That wasn't my question. What is your opinion of that?

D:  Well, my opinion is irrelevant, but I can tell you what the Bible says  . . .

H:  (Makes a rude hand gesture, and storms off, not waiting for the answer.)

D:  What upsets you so much, sir, that Jesus died for your sins? He loved you so much He died on a cross. You're not doing that to me, you're doing that to His beautiful message. Jesus died on a cross for you, and if you would turn and repent and trust in Him you will pass from death to life in an instant. That's the good news of the Gospel my friends.

NoHo Morning Shift

The morning shift continues at NoHo MTA Station, providing Bibles, tracts, gospel proclamation, and free Granola Bars to commuters. Please join us on Wednesday mornings, at the Lankershim crosswalk, across from the bus depot, starting at 6:00 AM. We are there, by God's grace, till 8:00 AM. Text notices are sent the night before to confirm. Please talk to Steve to get on the text list if you are interested in receiving these notifications.

Join Us!  

Saturday nights in Burbank, 6:00 PM, at the BPD parking lot for prayer, and then at the AMC Mall from 6:45 till 9 PM for witnessing.